


Drawn together

by Lacerta



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Artist Steve Rogers, First Meetings, Getting Together, Graffiti, M/M, Steve Rogers is Not Captain America, Teacher Steve Rogers, Tony Stark is Iron Man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 08:00:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22492693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lacerta/pseuds/Lacerta
Summary: 'why America?'Steve was actually proud of the pseudonym's meaning, but whenever he tried to explain it out loud, it sounded infantile.'You're gonna laugh.'The response came faster than Steve managed to type his next message.'promise im not''It's because whole America, if not the world, should thank Tony Stark for what he did, and my graffiti is a way of showing him that America really is grateful.'
Relationships: Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 23
Kudos: 109
Collections: POTS (18+) Stony Stocking 2019





	Drawn together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ArcadeGhostAdventurer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcadeGhostAdventurer/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [ArcadeGhostAdventurer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcadeGhostAdventurer/pseuds/ArcadeGhostAdventurer) in the [stony_stocking_2019](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/stony_stocking_2019) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> \- Steve is a graffiti artist. (Is he well known? No? You decide.) After the 2012 Bomb-Thru-The-Wormhole incident so many Iron Man murals pop up. But Steve decides to paint Tony Stark, because an armor is just an armor, if not for the man inside.  
> \- Steve and Tony are internet friends. It is their first meet up. (Is Tony still Tony Stark the CEO and Iron Man? Is Steve Captain America or an artist?)
> 
> I really loved these prompts, I enjoyed filling them and I really regret cutting it so short. I hope you enjoy it, too! <3

_Ping._

'why Stark?'

By that time, Steve was so used to having friends ask him the same question that he almost wrote a reply before realizing that it was a message from an unlisted number asking about work he did anonymously.

'Who is it?'

The reply came instantly.

'does it matter?'

Steve frowned at his mobile. Whoever it was, they weren't being terribly polite.

'I think it does.'

He waited a brief moment with a phone in his hand for a new message, but this time the reply wasn't as quick. His phone pinged again when he put it down and turned to go wash the dishes. Steve considered ignoring it, but his curiosity won that round.

'a fan'

Steve hummed. How should he put into polite words that a delayed, short message was not very convincing? His musing was cut off by another notification. And another.

'honestly your art is amazing’

'why waste it on stark?'

'you couldve chosen better'

Steve was conflicted. On one hand, the stranger was rude and there was no other way of putting it. On the other, they seemed to appreciate Steve's art?

'And what, become a next Iron Man portraitist?'

_Ping._

'wouldnt that be cooler?'

'You know it's the same man behind the mask?'

'at least the armor is the state of the art tech'

Steve positively fumed, his fingers trembled slightly when he typed the message and double-checked it for mistyping.

'Tony Stark is a man who designed the armor you admire, you fopdoodle, his mind is years ahead of anyone else, he's a true genius. He turned away from weapon manufacturing and no one does as much as he does to make sure America stays safe. It's not just that he risked his life to save us all when he could have run away and no one would blame him, but he's genuinely a good person, have you looked into Maria Stark Foundation's work? It saves lives. And it's all thanks to him. So think again before you vilify him.'

'huh'

And that was that. The stranger didn't write anything else, as if they got what they wanted. Steve shrugged, still pissed at whoever sent him the messages. There were dishes that needed to be washed, he had no time to give them any mind.

***

When another message pinged on his mobile, Steve almost stumbled in a rush to pick the phone up and read it. Who was he kidding? He was still thinking about the insolent stranger.

'you know you admitted to being America'

Shit.

In his haste to send a pointed reply, Steve completely forgot he was supposed to keep it a secret that he spent his free hours of the night illegally painting murals. Peggy would have his head for this slip of judgement, and she worried enough as it was.

'im not gonna tell on you dont fret'

Steve felt his back tense. He supposed he was at the stranger's mercy now, they knew revealing his identity was something that could pose a threat to Steve. Shit. This was terribly dangerous. He should probably try to stay on the other person's good side, right? 

But Steve wasn't known for staying out of trouble.

'What's your issue with Stark, anyway?'

A long pause, but this time he stubbornly stared at the screen until the message showed up.

'personal issues'

That was vague, and that was also the last he heard of the stranger.

***

That day. The last he heard of the stranger that day. It was Steve’s luck that, of course, the random messages continued.

'why America?'

Steve was actually proud of the pseudonym's meaning, but whenever he tried to explain it out loud, it sounded infantile.

'You're gonna laugh.' 

The response came faster than Steve managed to type his next message.

'promise im not'

'It's because whole America, if not the world, should thank Tony Stark for what he did, and my graffiti is a way of showing him that America really is grateful.'

'huh'

He supposed that was it, again, he didn't expect a long conversation with the stranger anyway, but he was surprised by an uncharacteristically lengthy reply that waited for him when he checked his phone a while later.

'i think hed appreciate the sentiment even if its not deserved. youre a great artist Steve, your dedication is admirable'

Steve didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't say anything.

***

'a+ location'

Steve was back home only for a brief moment when the message arrived, he barely had time to put his spray cans back in the cupboard. It was unnerving.

But his heart was running on pure adrenaline after painting in a spot as audacious as that, he couldn’t keep the giddy smile off his face, so he ignored the warning bells his rational thinking was ringing.

‘Thanks.’

‘Do I get your name for that?'

He wasn’t very smooth in his fishing for information about the stranger, but he couldn’t bring himself to care at that moment. Besides, he felt justified; whoever it was, they knew Steve’s name. They seemed to know a lot about Steve.

‘call me Grant’

‘Really?! That’s my middle name!’

Steve quickly sent an excited message, but with the lack of response from the stranger, the silence that followed sounded almost judging. He rolled his eyes, sighed and wrote another text.

‘That’s not your name, isn’t it?’

‘no’

‘but that was adorable’

Steve huffed indignantly.

‘What do I need to do to get your name?’

‘do the next one on other avengers’

***

Steve was all on board with the idea for Avengers murals, and the promise of maybe getting a name out of the mystery man (man? he could only assume) was only a partial reason. Just like with the Tony Stark mural, Steve wanted to show the human in each of them. He had already had ideas for how to best portray them, he’d just never gotten the push he needed to turn his doodles into full-scale murals.

Black Widow and Hawkeye had kept their identities secret, which meant that he had to compose the graffities in a way that hid their faces. He painted the Widow in a crowd, a silhouette stopping by a grocery shop and reaching for fruit displayed outside. She was in a dark grey hoodie with a red hourglass on its back. Her head was covered, but a strand of her signature red hair slipped from beneath the hood. She looked gracefully dangerous, unnoticed by the crowd, but still one of them all the same.

Hawkeye had mentioned a dog in one of the interviews, Steve didn’t know why the detail stuck with him, but he could use it now. The mural showed a man crouching down to greet an enthusiastic dog, his face hidden behind the Labrador’s smiling face. The hair and fur mixed together, distinct by only a shade of gold. By the man’s feet were bow and quiver, both tinted in purple, dropped down hastily only a moments before. 

Both murals were relatively simple, showing the superspies as regular humans that they were – just as mortal as the rest of them, and still risking their lives to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.

He put the two paintings next to each other, working fast to finish them both in one night.

Thor was both easier and more difficult. The god of thunder sat on the bench, Mjolnir placed on the seat beside him. He was playing with a Rubik’s cube with an excited smile on his face. It was Thor’s earnest, eager expression that took Steve so long to get right.

Steve painted Thor next to a kindergarten playground and smiled at the news next evening. The kids loved it.

Banner took the longest, and by the time Steve finished the mural, sun was already rising and Steve was kicking himself for choosing to paint it on a school night. He was dead on his feet during classes the next day and the kids had no mercy on him.

But it was worth it. There was a Hulk, on the mural, faint as if he were only a shadow, leaning slightly forward and keeping rubble from falling down on a frightened mother and a child. Casting the Hulk-shadow, there was Bruce Banner, kneeling beside the scared civilians with a first aid kit by his side.

With his earlier Tony Stark paintings, the set was complete. 

***

‘god your art is stunning’

‘do you take commissions?’

‘I would commission you so damn hard’

‘Banner will freak out when he sees it’

‘in a good way’

‘not the hulk way’

***

‘it’s anthony’

***

The amount of positive feedback Steve’s murals received left him giddy. Sure, the authorities were raging against the vandalism, and Steve got that, really, but he only ever chose untended buildings, often covered in vulgar graffiti in the first place.

So he felt giddy, proud, but also very, very tired. He rushed with the Avengers set and the number of all-nighters he pulled in the past two weeks was too much for the already slightly sleep-deprived art teacher. He tended to be forgetful when tired, and checking his phone was one of the things he failed to remember.

He only checked the messages a couple of days after finishing the last mural, and the name startled him. He almost forgot what the stranger… what Anthony had promised in return for the Avengers graffiti.

‘Nice to meet you, Anthony :)’

***

_Ping._

‘was that a smiley?’

‘it was, Steve’

‘i did not expect this level of casualness from a teacher’

Steve blinked at the new series of texts. His unease was back when Anthony reminded him just how much he knew about him.

‘How do you even know so much about me?’

‘its my job to know things about stuff’

‘Is stalking me your job?’

‘im not stalking you’

‘but if it was my job id be happily employed’

Steve eyeballed the screen, somewhat amused and somewhat alarmed. He didn’t know how to respond to that right away, but he wouldn’t write anything in time before the next messages were delivered.

‘shit that sounds creepy’

‘am i making you uncomfortable?’

‘i am, shit’

‘sorry’

Anthony didn’t message him after that for a few days.

***

Steve watched the Avengers’ press conference over a painting he needed to get done in time for Peggy’s birthday. It was a standard summary of the recent battle the Avengers had with another group of aliens. It seemed that some interdimensional pockets remained open after the Chitauri attack, but Tony Stark was promising that they were working on a more permanent solution to that problem.

This time, Iron Man was accompanied by the god of thunder. Thor kept mostly quiet, nodding solemnly to Tony Stark’s words, but when a journalist asked him if he wanted to add something, the god instantly beamed and boomed:

“We want to thank America!” His eyes were warm and excited, and he didn’t seem to notice the confused murmur among the journalists. “We enjoyed his art thoroughly, his skill of wielding paint is exquisite! Friend Banner was verily touched by his portrayal.”

Steve regretted that he was watching the news live and he couldn’t rewind the recording to make sure he was hearing it right. But he was.

Keeping one eye on the screen, trying to memorize all that was said, he reached for his phone.

‘Avengers are talking about me on TV! They loved the art!!!’

He sent the message to Anthony first and felt a pang of guilt, before sending the same text to Peggy and Bucky.

On the screen, Tony Stark looked away from the journalist, paying attention to a small holographic display on his wrist, Steve noticed. He was such a busy man, there was always someone requesting his attention, he couldn’t even get through a press conference without being bothered.

_Ping._

‘you need to hear it on TV to believe me?’

‘sure, be like that’

“And you, Mr. Stark?” A journalist directed the question at the distracted billionaire. Tony Stark looked up from whatever he was doing. “What do you think of America, the New York’s own graffiti artist?”

“It’s an honest shame that brick walls are not portable, that’s what I think. I would love to have the Avengers’ murals in my personal art collection,” said Tony lightly, but his voice still sounded honest.

‘Tony Stark loved it!!!’

Neither Peggy nor Bucky were replying, so Steve messaged Anthony again. He didn’t need to wait long for another response.

‘duh’

‘obvsly’

A short pause.

‘this is getting ridiculous’

***

Steve had gotten used to random messages at random times of day (and night).

‘you should go legal’

‘owners would pay you to paint for them’

‘you wouldn’t need to hide’

He smiled over lunch.

‘I don’t think revealing my identity to the authorities now is a good idea. I’m not a fan of jail.’

‘maybe I could help with that’

Steve had no idea what Anthony could mean by that. Was he a policeman? Or a politician? Or _the mayor_? Steve chuckled at his own joke. Sure, if it was someone in a position of power, Steve would’ve been done by now. 

‘By the way, thank you for not going public with the information you have on me.’

‘id never’

‘youre a good man Steve’

‘there are not enough of those anyway’

***

The aliens were, frankly, ridiculous. Hadn’t they gotten the memo? War is over, stop, return home, over? He had other things to do instead of chasing the remaining Chitauri across Central Park in the middle of a night.

“Is it us who are more experienced or are the goons getting predictable?” Tony asked through the comms and got confirmative grunts in reply, whatever they meant.

But he did have a point, the fight was quick, almost easy, and SHIELD was there in time to provide clean-up. By the morning, there wouldn’t be a trace of the battle. 

Tony landed on a rooftop right outside of the park and lifted his faceplate. Ah, air of New York. Not fresh, but definitely unique. He looked around and a colorful wall of a building towering over the roof he landed on caught his attention.

He recognized the graffiti right away. Or rather, not the mural itself, but the style, how could he not? The mural wasn’t finished, but it was unmistakably Steve’s. The sudden dread almost choked him. They thought no one was in the area at that time of the night, but no illegal graffiti artist would leave the job half-done. Steve had to be there somewhere.

“Fucking mother of-“ Tony gasped. “JARVIS, call Steve.”

The AI patched the call into Tony’s comms, blocking off the Avengers’ line for privacy. The first ring and…

He didn’t notice he was holding his breath until a sound of a ringtone made him release a shaky breath. The ring was coming from a corner of the roof, from behind a lose piece of sheet metal propped against the wall.

A brief rustling behind the cover and the call was disconnected. Tony took a deep, relieved breath, but by the time he let it out, he was screaming in frustration in his mind.

“You’re goddamn lucky for a total idiot you are, only you would think to paint in the middle of alien attack.”

“In my defense, I was here first, the aliens arrived later,” Steve’s spoke up from behind the metal sheet before warily getting out of his hiding. And, wow, he had unexpectedly nice voice, it was a real shame that the CCTV did not record sound, Tony had had no idea what he was missing out on.

“And what, the sheet was supposed to act as a shield in case the aliens attacked?” Tony breathed in through his nose. “Next time I give you advice, you’re gonna listen to me, got that? You need to go legal, for fuck’s sake.”

Steve blinked. For a moment he looked somewhat ashamed, but then his eyes grew in awe.

“Wait. It was… you?”

Tony sighed, raising his hand to pinch his nose. He remembered too late that he was in the armor, so he rubbed his forehead instead.

“See, that was exactly what I wanted to avoid, can we not…” his voice trailed off when he noticed Steve’s frown. “What?”

“You have extremely unhealthy relationship with yourself, Mr. Stark.”

Tony gaped. Of all the possible reactions, he had not expected that one.

“You’ve just been told you've been messaging Tony Stark… and that's your takeaway?”

Steve shrugged sheepishly, causing Tony to sigh again.

“At least call me Tony, will ya?”

***

It had been a few days since their awkward first meeting, which ended abruptly when Anthony’s… Tony’s presence was requested by other Avengers. Steve should be awed by the fact that he had met a superhero, and that he had his private number, but instead, all Steve felt was frustration, because all of his messages since they met had remained unanswered.

He tried to rationalize. It wasn’t like they messaged each other all the time before, and a man as busy as Tony Stark couldn’t be expected to always have time to spare. But the messages showed as read, and Steve had a feeling Tony Stark might be ghosting him.

And to top it all, he didn’t get to finish his latest mural. He's had the group painting of all the Avengers well-planned, and now it was ruined, and was being painted over. Stupid aliens.

He reached for his phone and sent a quick, angry message.

‘If you wanted to cut off all contact, you shouldn’t have said we’d talk later.’

He regretted sending it as soon as he pressed the button. He sounded salty. Which, he admitted to himself, he was, but Tony didn’t need to know that.

***

Steve had just finished his classes for the day. He tried his best not to take out his emotions on the children, but his frustration must've still been visible, because the kids were surprisingly calm during classes and even waited till they reached the corridor before raising the volume of their chatter.

Goodness, such good kids, Steve smiled fondly as he packed his stuff.

"Mr. Rogers?"

A male voice by the door startled Steve almost as much as the formal look of the man himself. Whoever it was, he was dressed like a typical bodyguard from the big screen: plain black suit and tie, and he even had black glasses in his hands that he must have just taken off.

“Yes…?”

“I’m here on behalf of Stark Industries regarding the renovation work.”

Steve frowned. ‘Stark Industries’ made him suspect who was behind it, but what could it be about? Was he in trouble?

“I’m sorry, but I think there has been a mix-up, mister…?”

“Mr. Stark was adamant that you need to be the artist to paint the wall in the main lobby as a part of the recent renovations.”

“And he couldn’t’ve told me that himself?!” Steve fumed, but then realized that it probably wasn’t appropriate. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“You’d be surprised how often I get this kind of reaction,” the man grunted. “Boss isn’t as suave as he likes to think. And if he can’t figure someone out, he throws money at them and hopes things will work out.”

That wasn’t exactly persuasive. Steve looked at the bodyguard warily.

“Look,” the man sighed. “He sent me to get you personally, he wants to see you and that’s rare in these times. He’s… trying. How about you give him a chance?”

***

Steve had never actually been to the Avengers Tower before.

The lobby was enormous, with high ceiling, glass panels and metal, in very modern style. There was a grey wall to the back of the lobby, past the employees’ gates, and Steve couldn’t help but start planning how best to match the design of the space with a mural.

Despite that, Steve’s attention didn’t stay on the wall, but was caught by a man pacing nervously along the glass wall of the Tower. Even if Steve didn’t recognize the man immediately, he would be able to tell by employees’ worried glances that the man was their boss.

Tony Stark.

When the man noticed Steve, he stopped his nervous pacing, ran a hand through his hair and squared his shoulders before heading towards his guest. He looked anxious and tired, and Steve was never known for keeping his mouth shut.

“You look like a mess.”

That cut off whatever Tony Stark wanted to say. The man did a double-take and collected himself.

“Do you compliment all your friends or am I special?” Tony asked with a raised brow.

Steve suspected he looked abashed, because he sure couldn’t find anything to answer to that.

“I...”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Tony waved his hand, “as long as you remember to get my good side on the mural.”

“You don’t have bad sides,” Steve blurted out. Before he could try to take back his words, Tony chuckled.

“I might not be an artist, but to my layman eye, you don’t have them either.”

They looked at each other for a minute, neither of them saying a word, and the short while was enough to make Steve’s thoughts run wild. Was Tony Stark quiet because he didn’t know what to say either? Assuming he could be a reason why such a man went speechless would be presumptuous. Was he not saying anything because he waited for Steve to say something in return? Was he disappointed? Yet Tony was smiling.

Confused, Steve cleared his throat. He regretted it when the peaceful smile disappeared from the other man’s face.

“Uh. You wanted to hire me?”

It seemed to remind Tony that their meeting this time had a purpose. He nodded sharply and flashed him a smile that was painfully fake after a real one Steve saw just seconds ago.

“Yup. Follow me, we’ll set you up.”

***

It took a couple of hours, but Tony introduced Steve first to JARVIS, an AI that run the Tower (a surprise that filled Steve with awe, a real artificial intelligence!), then to the SI lawyers (scarily efficient team that treated saving Steve from authorities’ rage as a fun, relaxing project) and the HR people (just as scary). Steve tried to protest when Tony gave him all access to the Tower, saying that he really did not need it, but Tony wouldn’t have it.

The trip down to the lobby was spent in awkward silence, and then, when the elevator slowed down, Tony turned to face Steve, suddenly serious.

“Did you mean it?” he asked. “What you said about Iron Man.”

Steve frowned.

“About Tony Stark,” he corrected. “And yes, absolutely. A genius, a philanthropist, and a good man.”

The surprised, disbelieving look on Tony’s face broke Steve’s heart a bit, but the man collected himself quick enough that it was clear he hadn’t intended Steve to notice.

“Sweet.”

The door of the elevator, that had come to a stop a while before, finally opened. Steve took it as a clue.

“Um, thank you, again? I will be back on Saturday.”

Tony just nodded in response.

“Have a good evening, Mr. Rogers,” a voice from a ceiling, JARVIS, spoke up instead. “It was a pleasure to meet you. We look forward to your visits.”

***

When Steve came to the Tower on Saturday, Tony Stark found an excuse to come down from his floors above to the lobby and stayed for over two hours before Ms. Potts came by to drag him back to work. He even brought a chair from upstairs to make himself comfortable.

“I always wanted to see you paint, you know?” Tony said, leaning back in the chair. “Your art is incredible but I wanted to see the process of its creation. Is that creepy? Am I creeping you out, again?”

“You never ‘creeped me out’, Mr. Stark,” Steve answered honestly, with a smile in his voice.

“Tony,” the man insisted. He seemed to mull something over in his head before carrying on. “Does it bother you that I’m watching you paint? I don’t like people barging into my lab, but it never really bothers me, I guess, when people are around, otherwise I wouldn’t space out during the board meeting. These meetings are terrible, let me tell you, I thought I’d be rid of them when I passed the company to Pepper, but no, they still need me.”

“You’re quite irreplaceable, Tony.”

That stunned Tony into silence for a moment.

“You _do_ compliment your friends, don’t you?” he muttered under his breath. Steve heard, and had to bite his cheek to hold back a wide grin at the thought of Tony Stark thinking of him as a friend.

Tony rambled a lot, Steve discovered in the next two hours, and slept too little – Steve picked up on his subtle yawns when he thought Steve wasn’t paying attention. They argued about it semi-jokingly right before Ms. Potts arrived.

***

‘It’s past midnight, go to sleep, Tony.’

‘i can see your judging eyebrows from here’

‘they will never work on me’

‘Please? :)’

‘geez’

‘fine’

***

It took a few days to finish the mural in the lobby. It was the biggest project Steve had ever worked on, but if he were to be honest, he was in no rush. Tony kept finding ways to sneak down past Ms. Potts and spend a couple of hours chatting with Steve, and Steve enjoyed the conversations immensely.

At first, he was mostly giddy that _the_ Tony Stark was talking to him, but once he got past that phase, he found he enjoyed the man’s company. And Tony seemed to enjoyed it, too.

Steve was proud of his mural; it was his first mural that featured the Iron Man suit, but he made sure that the faceplate was lifted and the man inside the suit was clearly visible. He was proud, but he felt sad when he had to inform Tony it was finished.

The man looked at the painting pensively, and then, finally:

“Do you think you could paint something for the Avengers’ Museum floor?”

***

It started with a mural in the Tower’s lobby. Then, Steve happily agreed to paint in the Avengers’ museum if it meant he could keep visiting the Tower. 

The painting in Tony’s personal apartment came later. The Avengers’ common room was decorated with graffiti doodles when Steve wanted to make a good impression on the team. Tony’s lab was more than a work space and to paint there felt so much more intimate, Steve felt honored to be even allowed in.

As not only his art grew more intimate, he soon run out of wall space to paint on. Luckily, it wasn’t long before he could switch to sticking his newest sketches to the fridge and leaving post-it notes with doodles by the bed for when Tony woke up.


End file.
